HONOLULU -- A former dispersing officer for Schofield Barracks units in Afghanistan pleaded not guilty to stealing $400,000 from the government while on deployment in a finance battalion.

Former Army Capt. David Silivano Gilliam, 39, was arrested in South Carolina for theft of government funds and illegally concealing money to bring it out of the country, according to court documents.

In 2004 and 2005, Gilliam was a disbursing officer with the 125th Finance Battalion from Schofield Barracks. He was deployed to the Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan.

In both Afghanistan and Iraq, American cash is a big part of the war effort, paying civilians for work and even for losses to combat.

Prosecutors said Gilliam was put in a position of trust.

"He misused that by stealing the money and smuggling it into the United States from Afghanistan and using it as set forth in the indictment to buy personal things and conduct personal transactions with it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Connors said.

Gilliam apparently brought about $400,000 in cash home in his luggage. The IRS got suspicious after he converted $254,000 into a First Hawaiian Bank cashiers check.

Gilliam is not the only soldier accused of stealing American cash from the war zone. Just last week a captain from Beaverton, Ore., was accused of sending home $700,000 from Iraq.

When first confronted about where the money came from Gilliam told IRS investigator LeiAnn Corpuz that he earned the money running a dating service when he was stationed in Panama.

The soldier is no longer in the Army. Military officials have not returned KITV's calls. It is not known whether he was dishonorably discharged.

The federal judge set Gilliam's trial date for May.